Tag: beach

We took the boys to the beach a couple weeks ago and snapped some fun pictures of Ben’s first trip to the ocean. (Charlie’s 1 millionth trip) Ben slept the whole time in my handy ring sling, and in newborn life – that’s considered a success. Charlie on the other hand, tried to throw himself into the water, eat sand and wave at everyone he saw. We’re so lucky that we can take weekend trips to the beach in just a five minute car ride!

Finally! After what ended up being nearly the entire month of June, we’re back at home for the rest of the summer and it feels good. We started June with a weeklong trip home to the Midwest to see friends and family. Then, Mike surprised me with a 30th birthday trip to Niagara Falls. We just got home on Saturday from a week at the beach with the Metroka family. All such a good trips. I can’t wait to put together pictures and stories from our travels and to get back into a little bit more of a routine. So many good things to share!

It’s Friday! We’ve had our dear friends and their little girl in town this week so we’ve gone over to their Airbnb for dinner one night and had them over to our house for another. It’s kind of made the week fly by in a daze of Cuban food, extra glasses of wine and fancy macaroons from the Island. Whenever we have visitors I find myself getting little caught up in their vacation, forgetting that I actually have to work the next day. Oops!

At school the kids at school are getting more defiant and restless, clearly ready for summer. It’s making days a little more difficult. Let’s be honest, I’m ready for summer too and it’s making me more difficult. But the good news is that there are only four weeks left of school, today is the last day of testing and I can officially be in serious countdown mode now. Our first ripe mango dropped the other day and it’s just the first sign of the seasons changing in Florida. Hot, sticky summer is on its way!

Speaking of summer, Charlie is suddenly in need of a new sunhat. His little bucket hat is basically just balancing on top of his head (I swear it fit last week, and this week – it doesn’t!) I found an adorable free pattern with instructions for a baby sun bonnet the other day. I haven’t broken out the sewing machine in months and am feeling the itch for a good diy. I even have enough fabric at home already. I’ll let you guys know how (or if) it goes!

I made these hilariously big banana muffins that I have been munching on for snacks all week. I’ve always used Betty Crocker’s recipe for my banana bread. It’s very forgiving, and I’ve never had it turn out badly. Anyone have a good quick bread recipe though? I love trying new ones. I’m on my last muffin, so I picked up ingredients for muesli at the store to make a big batch up for weekday breakfasts. I’ll share the recipe next week. 🙂

Our friends are in town for the weekend too, so we’ll be bopping around with them pretending like we’re tourists. Mikey also has a couple work events to go to (boo hiss!). It may be one of those weekends that just breezes right by and we’ll ask ourselves, “Monday, already, really??”

Is anyone getting tired of hearing about the beach? I really hope not. Each trip just feels so distinct that I have to capture it! The ocean, the air, Charlie, and our experience changes every time.

This Saturday the water was crystal clear and calm. The sun shone high and bright. Charlie had just woken up from a nap so he was happy to go into the water and splash.

After a while, Mike dug him out his own personal swimming pool which he loved. He splashed, tried to eat sand, and sat looking out at the ocean.

I just keep thinking that life can’t get any better and then it suddenly does. And then Monday rolls around (insert crying face). But I’m counting my lucky stars for such special weekends with these two loves.

I totally jumped the gun yesterday morning and ripped off my April calendar at school. Technically, May doesn’t come until next Tuesday, but I don’t care gosh darn it! I’m ready to see the light at the end of the tunnel – aka SUMMER BREAK! I just needed to see that little square that says “LAST DAY OF SCHOOL”. I asked my sister (also a teacher) last week if it was too early to start getting excited for summer, and she said yes. I’m totally going against her though and getting excited anyway. Testing ends next week, and then all the fun end-of-year celebrations begin – book fair, field days, movie celebrations, field trips, graduation. It’s going to be fun and so fast, you guys.

Mike and I (and Charlie) went out for a rare weeknight dinner out last night at one of our favorite local spots, a little diner called Howley’s. We had a beer each and split cottage chip nachos on the back patio and it made it feel like the weekend had already begun. Let me tell you, I didn’t mind that one bit.

I’ve been brainstorming a lot about this little spot on the internet (testing season leaves lots of time for thinking) and about what direction I’d like to go with it now that I’ve been posting for a little while. I updated some of my categories to be more useful and to make things more findable. I also did a little header update and some changes on my post formatting. I’ve been using it as kind of an online journal, which I love and want to keep doing. It’s so nice to be able to have one spot where all of our happenings and life history can be found, especially things with Charlie as he grows. But I also want to include more posts with thoughts on parenting, working motherhood, interesting books & articles, housekeeping, our favorite things, organization, etc. Maybe even a little bit of baby and mama fashion? (lookin’ at you – one piece swimsuit) So look for more of a variety of posts coming soon! I’m excited for this space to become more practical for me and you, if you happen to be interested in any of those things. I think it may even help make me be more proactive and reflective about parenthood and our lifestyle as Charlie (and future babies!) get older.

What are you up to this weekend? If you’re up north, I hear it’s starting to get warm out, finally! Mike’s dad sent a photo of his mom mowing the lawn, and the grass just looked so incredibly green. I miss many things about the midwest – but thinking about the carpets of grass during spring and summer is very touching to me for whatever reason. Grass (a generous term) is not like that in Florida.

We have tickets to a baseball game on Sunday afternoon, so that might be our big outing for the weekend. Charlie’s had a yucky cough all week (along with all the other kids in his classroom, we’re told) so we’re going to lay low and get that baby back to 100%. Happy weekend, all!

It was 4pm and it felt like we hadn’t done a thing all day. Charlie took a half hour long afternoon nap, then an extra half hour nap in my arms after that, and another half hour after that when I finally set him back down in his crib, shaking out the pins and needles in my arms. I banged around the house, halfheartedly trying to wake him up, peering out at the clouds trying to determine the likelihood of rain.

The sky had looked threatening all day, and I remembered the humid wind barreling toward us on our morning, post-church run that morning. A storm was coming. The urge to cozy up together on the couch was strong, but I also had the urge to see the waves. It had been a couple weeks, and we were due.

I finally heard a whimper during my overly enthusiastic search for beach towels in the closet right next to his room. On went his trunks, swim shirt, and into the car seat he went. The intracoastal was dark and choppy as we crossed the bridge to our little local beach, making us think that we may be too close to the storm to stay.

The waves were rough but not too big. A yellow flag waved, warning about riptides. As we got to the water the sand pitched down to the water in a steep dip making a little ledge to walk down to the ocean edge. We set our chairs up on the packed sand below the ledge and left our bag on a chair. The wind whipped around us, bending the palm trees on the boardwalk. I felt my hair turning into a birds nest. Charlie’s hat kept blowing off so I finally tucked it in our bag. We wouldn’t be out long.

Charlie stared out at the waves, unsmiling. Did he like it? Was it scary? Was the water too cold? Every time we come to the beach, he’s just a little bit bigger, a little bit older. What if he doesn’t like it this time? We let him stand in the sand and the waves came in covering him to his knees. Mike grabbed a handful of seaweed for him to feel. He grabbed a handful of sand and tried to bring it to his mouth, Mike stopping him just in time. I crouched down to rinse his hands with seawater, laughing as my shorts got soaked by a wave. We’re pretty sure he still likes it.

We didn’t stay long. Just long enough to call it an adventure. We’ll be back again next week. The storm came later that night, rattling the windows and bringing down palm fronds, tiny unripe mangos and bougainvillea blooms all over the neighborhood. I’m glad it held off for our afternoon. The slow end to a weekend that went by far too fast.